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Change Fields For An Hour

Here's both a creative strategy and a fun exercise. I encourage you to jump in!

"Most advances in science," explain physicist Peter Borden, "come when a person is forced to change fields." You can "change fields" briefly by taking someone from another discipline or industry to lunch and pick to their mind. Not only do you get a fresh perspective, you'll get some new ideas.

Let's suppose that the following pairs of people went to lunch together to discuss their professions and the "meaning of life." What could they learn from each other?

• A priest and the head waiter at a fancy restaurant• A bomb maker and an insurance salesman• A software programmer and a kindergarten teacher• A nurse in a cancer ward and a jazz drummer• An A-list blogger and a mezzo soprano• A choreographer and a bookie• A espionage agent and an air traffic controller• A heart surgeon and a gardener• A fisherman and a haute couture fashion designer

On what ideas would they agree? Disagree? What could they learn from one another?

I had to come and check out your blog after Lewis told me he had talked to you just before talking to me! I am glad I did.

What if you are a blogger AND a singer? I am not an A-list blogger (yet), but I do love to blog AND I love to sing. To me, these are complementary, as they are both creative outlets. Just to confuse you, I am also an engineer by training (EECS at Berkeley!). Not sure that I have changed fields, I have just kept pushing the limits to reach a point of creativity.